This post contains helpful tips and tricks! If you’re in a rush, please use the “Jump to Recipe” above! Jump to:💭 Why you’ll love this recipe 📋 Ingredients and notes 🍴 Serving and storage suggestions 📖 Recipe💬 Comments
💭 Why you’ll love this recipe
Modern take for pesto lovers: We all love basil pesto, but if you want to switch things up a bit, this kale pesto recipe is a great one to add to your list!Vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free as written: The recipe can accommodate several dietary restrictions as written, and great when paired with any pasta!Super customizable: I’ve included variations here to make this recipe nut-free, and written directions using a wide range of ingredients
📋 Ingredients and notes
You’ll need kale, avocado, nuts, garlic, and olive oil for this recipe (along with salt, pepper and lemon juice for seasoning).
Substitutions and notes:
Choice of nuts: The recipe as written uses walnuts, because the nuttiness goes great with the flavors of kale, but you can easily swap with cashews or pistachios. Or you can go totally nut-free, and use pepitas (sunflower seeds). Creaminess and cheesiness: Traditional pesto uses parmesan cheese, but I have omitted that in the recipe because the avocados make this plenty creamy. However, if you like, you can add any mild vegan cheese of your choice to the pesto.
🍴 Serving and storage suggestions
What can you use pesto for?
Well, to be honest? Everything! This vegan kale pesto is super versatile. I’ve definitely used it for more than just pasta (though it tastes darn delicious on pasta). I’ve used it as a healthy vegan dip, a spread for sandwiches, and as a base sauce for pizza (slather on top of some homemade naan and you’re in business). Check out this other post for eight ways to use pesto (that’s not pasta!) in your cooking everyday!
How long does pesto last?
When stored in an airtight container, pesto lasts up to a week in the fridge. Homemade pesto doesn’t have preservatives, so the shelf life is a bit shorter than storebought. You can freeze pesto if you’d like to extend it’s shelf life up to a month. I personally love freezing pesto in ice cube trays since it’s easier to portion that way. Please note that the texture might be different depending on the ingredients. Bring it out and thaw fully before using and don’t reheat it if you can avoid it.
Can you reheat pesto?
You could, but I recommend that you don’t. While it’s not a huge difference, I’ve noticed that the pesto gets a bit more “oily” when reheated. What I usually do is bring it out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes before eating. Then, I serve it on something warm (like pasta or toast) to bring up the temperature more naturally. If you like this recipe, you’ll enjoy some of these other pasta dishes as well: If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📖 Recipe
